Search me O God…

Last month we talked about serving.  We discovered that serving is one way to demonstrate spiritual maturity, but there is another key that I would like to explore.  The fastest way to grow in God is to cultivate a life and heart of honor!   You must “get” this powerful spiritual principle…every successful endeavor that a man does is tied to honor.  Like wise, every unsuccessful endeavor is also tied to honor or the lack of it.  This one issue will decide how far God is able to take us and use us.  Our decisions to live a life of honor will determine our success and ultimately the fulfillment of our destiny in Christ.   Living a life of honor will catapult our spiritual growth and enable us to become the men that He has called us to be.  In my personal endeavors to explore honor…the Holy Spirit taught me a little bit about myself.  I want to share this powerful and practical truth with you because it helped me grow.    

In the next blog we will look at the subject of honor.   But, first I want to talk about a truth that was a key that unlocked my heart to walk in honor.  It is one thing to receive information and it is quite another to walk it out!  There is one thing that will keep us from cultivating a culture of honor in our lives.  Once I received this revelation, applying the principles on honor became easy.  If real men of honor are Christ-like, then real manhood begins with giving Christ your whole life.  He wants to be your identity.  Your salvation is only the beginning…he wants all of you.  You must surrender your body and soul to Him!  What does that mean?  Jesus wants you to give Him all of your desires, your thoughts, and your emotions.  He wants to protect you from the lies that the world tries to make us believe.  Every day we are inundated with negative examples of what the world defines as real men.  Media, pop-culture and Hollywood are all contending for our attention.   Unfortunately, these outlets only produce counterfeit examples of real manhood!   Satan wants us to agree with his lies and confuse the truth!  If our identity is formed by any one of these influences, we cannot walk as real men of God.  Who we allow to form our identity determines who has our hearts...who is our true master.  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one; and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon…Luke 16:13.

When we allow this world, our friends, or our own selfish desires to define who we are then insecurities will develop.  When our identity is formed by what we want, think and feel, we are giving our soul permission to lead us.  Over time you will lose spiritual vision.  You will look for things to fill the void in your life…friends, girls, entertainment, drugs or alcohol.  I love the way my wife describes it.  She says “’there is a God shaped puzzle “peace” in our hearts that only the Father in heaven can fill.”  If your not feeling this peace, then the real question is who or what is really holding your heart? 

Did you know that we are instructed by God to guard our heart?  I like how the Amplified bible reads…Proverbs 4:23 Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.  What I would like to suggest to you is take this next month, and cry out, just as David cried to the Lord in Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:  Give the Holy Spirit permission to examine you, search you, and reveal areas to you that are in your life that need changed.  Get real with yourself and ask, “Who is holding the keys to my heart Lord…show me!”  Let this be our prayer…”Jesus I want to make you and you alone the King on the throne of my life.”  Remember, God will not share His throne with anyone!  Ask, who is on the throne of your life!  When we come to God asking with an open, broken and contrite heart, then He will reveal great and mighty things to us.  His word confirms that!  Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which you know not.   Noticed it said: which you know not!  We may think we know what is in our hearts, but believe me we have no idea.  He will reveal the hidden things.  He wants to show us the things that have formed our identities; and He wants to reveal the things that keep us from moving ahead in life.  Praise God He knows what’s best for us, and if we ask Him…He will reveal it to us.  Why?  Because He loves us!   His greatest desire is that we grow and mature into the Man He has called us to be…a man created after the image of His Son!

I pray that this month be a month of great discovery for all of us!  I believe that if we receive this word and ask the Holy Spirit to begin this change in us, by faith we will be catapulted into another level.  We will discover things that have held us from becoming the Men of God we are called to be.  Next month we will look into cultivating a life of honor and preparing ourselves to receive the honors reward.  Blessing to you and I pray the Holy Spirit quickens this word to your hearts, and that you are blessed and encouraged by it.  Blessings to you!

Becoming a servant…being the man of God He has called you to be.

We have been looking at being transformed into new men. How? By cultivating a deeper relationship with our first love. With Jesus as the firm foundation of our lives we will be able to weather any storm that comes our way. Only when we find our true love, can we love others the way they deserve to be loved. Remember, you can only give away what you have. Becoming like our master requires something of us. Daily we must choose to lay aside our agenda’s, selfish motives and wait to hear His heart. We need the help of the Holy Spirit every moment of every day. If we depend on our own strength we will fail every time! Remember it’s “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Zech 4:6 We receive him by faith and when we take up our cross everyday we are saying yes Lord! There are no padded crosses…Jesus didn’t have one and neither do we! A season of transformation may not be fun, but denying ourselves, and dealing with our selfish desires is necessary! Pain may endure for the night, but Joy comes in the morning! Only then can His love pour out over us and into the lives of those who are most dear to us...and ultimately His world. The world is waiting for this Love. 

Today I want to talk about the simple act of being a servant. What is a real servant? It is someone who sees a need, and selflessly takes care of that need. Being a servant is demonstrating His love through our actions. Something radical happens to us as we learn to live in His presence…true servants are born. Jesus was a servant. It was His calling…His destiny. He knew who He was and why he was here. Unfortunately, many of us look at serving as a way to promotion. And although it is the fastest way to be promoted being a servant is not about you. Serving is an expression of His love within you.  When you begin to realize what being a servant is really about you begin to see and do things differently. Serving is not just for churches or for serving a man or woman of God! Serving should not begin and end once we walk out of church on Sundays…it should be reflected in our lives. 

Men…if you see a need at home, then by all means fill it immediately! Don’t let your wives do everything! You know what will happen if you don’t? They will do it…they are just built that way. If they see you are not helping they will just do it themselves. My earthly father was the greatest example to me of who a servant is. He always helped my mother, because when he saw there was a need, he would take care of it without being asked to do it. He was no less of a man because he picked up the vacuum, dusted, and washed toilets.  He demonstrated the art of being a servant and I learned a lot from him early in my life. But, as I became a man I realized something very important. It took me a while to see that just because my father was a good servant didn’t mean that I was one. I realized that being a servant was a matter of choice. Colossians 3:2 reminds us that to be successful in what God has called us to do we must set our mind to do it…and then it becomes our job to keep it set no matter what comes our way. It is our responsibility to walk in integrity. If we promise to do something…then we must do it. Being a servant means we are committed! If we commit to something…we do it whether or not we “feel” like it. When we say for better or for worse…we are saying I am committed to you no matter what.  Serving is being committed to love…being bound to Jesus. It is humbling yourself to wash the feet of those who are around you every day! Thank God for His mercy, grace, and power.

How do we begin? Begin today by setting your mind. Choose today to look for an unmet need and fill it…without being asked! Set your mind today to begin to work out what God is doing on the inside of you. Don’t limit your acts of service to your home or church. Begin to ask God to help you see ways to serve people everywhere that you go! You may think I’m crazy but if I am at a store or in a public restroom, if there is trash on the floor I pick it up. Begin to change the way you think about things. I always think about the person who has to pick up that mess…I see a need and I meet it. What about parking lots? Have you ever noticed shopping carts that have never been returned? Or have you ever left yours there? Maybe you say they pay someone to do that job. Yes they do…but I see it as an opportunity to honor and show value. Serving takes our eyes off of ourselves and empowers us to begin to see things the way God sees them. For God so loved that He gave!  God is a giver…not a taker. Serve physically, financially, prayerfully. If you see that your wife is having a bad day then pray for her. Begin to serve your family by covering them in the blood of Jesus daily. Pray for their needs…without them or anyone else ever knowing it. 

Christ came to earth to be a servant. He said in Luke 22:27, “For who is greater, the one at the table or the one serving? Isn’t it the one at the table?  But I am among you as the One who serves.” The word declares that Jesus only did what He saw His Father in heaven doing. The Son modeled His father and when we model Christ we also model our father God in heaven.  Remember when the disciples were arguing about who among them was the greatest?  Jesus first asked them “what are you arguing about”? They did not answer Him. (I’m sure because they felt bad.) He called them in sat them down and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and a servant of all.”  Mark 9:35 Jesus taught us that the greatest form of being a servant is to deny ourselves and place the needs of others before our own. 

True humility is not self-seeking and it does not look for a reward. It is not going around looking for others to congratulate you for the great service that you do. It is doing it for the love of Him and the love of others.

We are in a process of becoming the new man. We are being transformed into the image of Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit. He is enabling us to become true servants by living a life of intimacy and taking up our cross daily to serve others.

Pray this prayer with me. Father forgive me if I have not been the servant that you called me to be. Holy Spirit help me begin to see areas where I have been selfish in my desires. Fill me with your love and with your heart.  Holy Spirit help me keep my mind set…help me keep the commitments that I make. Let my yes be yes and help me keep my word! Jesus help me to become the servant that you were. I want to honor you above all things.  Amen.

 I pray right now that you hear the voice and words of your Father in heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” 

Taking up our Cross daily…

     

     In the last blog we looked at becoming the lover that Christ wants us to be.  Developing a relationship with Jesus is a continual process.  We can spend a lifetime cultivating a loving and deep relationship.  Remember to enjoy the journey…it is not a destination you are seeking but a person.  One way we develop our relationship with the Lord is by the simple act of turning our loving attention to Him in everything we do.  We give Him all of our attention, praise, and love in every task that we are doing throughout the day.  It may be sweeping the floor, helping with the dishes, cleaning up leaves…it’s for the love of God!  This is communion with Christ.  This process will take time but as we pursue Him with child-like love and simple faith we will uncover whom He is. 

As we are transformed from glory to glory we will begin to identify with the Lord in another area.  He will lead us into a very challenging area.  He will ask us to daily deny ourselves, and our desires for the love of Him and for the love of others.  The more we deny our selfish desires, the closer we will look like our Savior.  The more like Jesus we allow ourselves to become, the more our families and the world will see His attributes flowing out of us.  

This will change your life, and the lives of those you come in contact with.  The world is looking for the real Jesus.  

 I can remember an old hymn my father used to sing.  He would walk through the house singing “Oh to be like Thee, Oh to be like Thee, blessed redeemer pure as Thou art.”   Men of God if we dedicate our lives to becoming more and more like Christ, we will be the husbands He calls us to be.  Daily we must surrender our lives to the Holy Spirit.  

Pray these words with me… “Holy Spirit help me in this area of my life.  I need you.  Help me become more like Christ.  I can’t do it on my own…I’ve tried so many times and failed.  I need your strength to surrender in this area of my life. “   In Psalms 119 David was crying out to the Lord for His help!  He knew that He could not do it on his own.  In verse 18 David cries, “open my eyes so that I may see…”   In verse 29 he says, “keep me from the ways of deceit…”   He was asking the Lord to help him in the area of lying.  In verse 33 he continues, “teach me, Lord, the meaning of your statues…”  David was asking the Lord for help.  In verse 37 David admits he has a problem looking at things he should not be looking at.  He asked the Lord to “turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless “.  Daily we must make a conscious effort to choose to pick up our cross.  Jesus said in Luke 9:23  “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me."  Before we get out of bed and place our feet on the ground every morning…we choose.  Today choose not to be easily offended the first time someone says something you don’t like or agree with.  Brothers it is impossible to even choose without the help of the Holy Spirit!  But, the gospel is Good News…with God all things are possible.  Just put your trust in His Son and surrender your will to the Holy Spirit!  Remember, the word declares “Lord not that my will be done, but that Thy will be done in my life”.  When we as men begin to wake up and daily pray this over our lives, you can mark the day that yourself, and your household will be transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Father, I thank you that you have given us the Comforter…the Counselor…the Holy Spirit to guide us into all things.  Father, I pray you would give my Brothers the strength and the knowledge to become the Men of God that you have destined them to be.  Before you created them in their mother’s womb, you called them by name.  You have raised them up for such a time as this to become leaders for their families and the world.  Father, I pray in Jesus name that you would empower them to grow in the likeness of your Son.  Father, may they always know that you are continually holding their hands, and walking this walk of faith with them.  Lord we give you all the praise, honor, and glory for the transformation that is, and will be taking place in our lives.  And Father, when people notice the transformation in our lives we will point them straight to you.  

We pray this in Jesus name.  Amen!